Panic Room

A casual viewer will hardly appreciate David Fincher's brilliant camerawork and the subtle noir atmosphere of the entire film. The script is indeed simple, but the main characters are brilliantly portrayed and the settings of the large villa, bad weather, and Jodie Foster's believable acting contribute a lot. For fans of the genre and Fincher's films, it is truly an exceptional work. For most others, however, it will likely be just an average cat and mouse game with a slightly exaggerated ending. (01/11/2003)

First of all, I praise the great performance of Jodie Foster, who actually doesn't even need to heartbreakingly cry and wail to express her despair and stress, the look in her terrified eyes is enough. And Fincher's precise and, as always, brilliant direction orchestrates her acting and gives the film a typically dense and uncomfortable atmosphere that gradually builds up until it finally culminates in a powerful and unforgettable finale. I thought Panic Room would be a lot weaker than the best Fincher films, but I was wrong. This guy has done another great job. 90% (17/08/2011)

Fincher's beloved toy for entertainment, which raises credit through three aspects: the perfect atmosphere of constant unease in the house, from which the camera only emerges sporadically, the ambiguous character of Whitaker, whom you cannot guess which side they will join until the last minute, and most importantly, Jodie Foster, who can play hysterical scenes with surprising bravado, on which most of her colleagues would break their teeth. Because of her, those three stars are better, but it needed more twists and script ideas. This way, the flyovers, details, and slow-motion shots get lost in their own purposelessness several times. 70% (13/08/2007)

David Fincher knows how to dose the tension in his thrillers. It is always based on a great idea and when it starts unfolding, it is clear he really enjoys his work, scene after the scene. When I was watching Panic Room, I was quite surprised why he is currently stuck with movies which quite contradict the things he is best at. However, I enjoyed this movie. I wish they would make more harsh and exciting thrillers like this in Hollywood. But I have a feeling that movies like this one are slowly becoming rare in the States. (11/02/2019)

The B-movie thriller Fincher originally had planned just didn't work out. He deliberately wanted to take a break from the demanding production of Fight Club with something completely genre-pure that takes place in one location. Instead, it turned out to be a 150-day long shoot and one with mainstream feminist milestones, which happened sort of unexpectedly out of the blue (the originally cast Nicole Kidman was supposed to be a classic Grace Kelly-style damsel in distress, and her teenage daughter actually took on the mothering role during the film; the script had to be rewritten after Jodie Foster was cast, because Foster is typecast as a completely different type of actress). In hindsight, it's the formal purity that is the most enjoyable part. While today's home invasion films try to convey the awkwardness of the protagonists' situation through handheld camerawork and quick editing, Fincher almost never uses handheld shots, doesn't pan and therefore doesn't move his gaze, and instead builds the entire film on the gimmick that the camera can be omnipresent, no one person controls it, and therefore we can expect practically anything from it. It's a bit of a shame that the direction then has to rely on a rather unimaginative script which really pulls the subplot out of its ass at the last minute, violently, and in short when another way for the main characters to save themselves comes after ninety minutes, but somehow goes wrong again, you start to wonder more and more if it even makes sense anymore, and with that parameter you find yourself nowhere you want to be nor where the film wants you to be. (16/03/2020)